Silo structure and anchoring means therefor



Patented Aug. 5, 1924.

anti* eretta.

JERRY' w'IrLLLY,` or Das MOINES', IOWA.

sILo saint-Grunn Ann 'ANCHORING ineens` rnnanroa.

Appnation filed Jamiary 2, 1923.` sei-'iai Nacmaa To all whom t may concern.'V

Be it known that I, JERRY VIDLEY, a citizen of the United' States,- residing in Des Moines, in the county of Pollcand' State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Silo Structure and Anchoring Means Therefor, of which the fol-lowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to pro'- vide means for preventing the twisting of the staves of a' silo relative to each other and to prevent up and down movement of the staves relative to eac-h other.

More particularly, my invention relates to a member arranged to extendV across the joint of two adjacent staves andto be se`- cured thereto, and fingers or'm'edon said member arranged to form a pocket or retaining member for the wire band or' hoop ordinarily used on silos.

Still a further object is to provide the structure with tapered prongs whereby they may be embedded in the staves for holding the plate or center member across the oint of the staves, and to form the ends of the center member with fingers arranged at right angles to the center member andV projected outwardly therefrom for receiving.` a wire band or the likel therebetween.

Still a further object is to provide aI member for connecting the adjacent s'taves together and for retaining` the' siloA band in such position that the band `will engage, through the medium ofthe anchoring memL bers, eac-h of the stavesior holdingthem in proper position.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a silo with one set of anchoring members and a wire band shown thereon. j

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2, showing the anchoring member connected to two adjacent staves; and

Figure et is a perspective view of one of the anchoring members.

In the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate generally a silo base, which has resting thereon a plurality7 of vertical wood sta-ves 11 for forming a complete silo wall. A root structure 12 rests upon the staves 11.

Each of the staves 11 are provided with a groove 13 and a tongue 14C on their opposite edges. The tongue 14 of one oithe staves is designed to project into the groove of the next adjacent stave.

In this connection, it may be mentioned that thereis some up and down movement or twisting movement of the staves relative to each other, which causes the entire silo wall to' sag and twist.

My anchoring members are designed to eliminate the possibility of up and down movement of the staves relative to each other and to eliminate sagging of the silo wall.

My anchoring members are formedof a single piece of material A. The material is provided with a center member 15 which has a pair of prongs 16 on each of its ends. The prongs 16 are tapered and are .bent at right angles tothe center member 15.

The prongs 16 are capable of being driven into the wooden staves 11 for holding the anchoring member in position. lThe prongs 16 are so embedded in the staves 11 that the center member 15 will extend across the joint between a pair oi' adjacent staves, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawing.

From the construction of the parts just described,` it will be seen that the anchoring members are secured tol the staves and will prevent up and down movement of one stave relative to another and thus eliminate any sagging of the silo wall. Each ot the pieces of material A is provided with pairs of fingers 17 on the ends of the center member 15. The pairs of finger members 17 are arranged between the pairs of prongs 16 and are also bent at right angles to the center member 15. The pairs of lingers are bent in a direction opposite from the prongs 16, as clearly shown in Figure 4 of the drawing.

The adjacent edges of ,each pair of fingers 17 are curved so that each pair will form a half circle. The fingers 17 are designed to receive therebetween an iron silo band 18 of the ordinary construction.

It will be seen that the iingers 17 form a pocket for receiving or retaining the iron bandor hoop against up or down movement. When the iron band 18 is tightened, it will engage each of the anchoring members, as clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. In this connection, it may be mentioned that the providing of a plate, which extends across the joint of the adjacent -staves and the resting of an iron` band thereagainst 1s quite an advant-age over the securing of an iron band directly to the staves.

The using of my anchoring member makes it possible to draw all of the staves together regardless of any irregularity in the width of the staves. My anchoring members are designed for use with a wood stave silo. When iron bands are used directly against the staves, I have found that it is almost impossible to get the iron baud to rest on each of the edges of the staves.

My device causes the staves to be connected securely together with their edges resting against each other. The iron band 18 rests directly against the center member 15, which in turn is fixed to the adjacent staves, thereby completely anchoring the staves against undesired movement.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts of my invention, without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use/of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a silo having a pluralityv of vertical staves arranged with coacting tongues and grooves on their adjacent edges, an anchoring means for preventing twisting movement of staves relative to each other, said anchoring means comprising a member adapted to extend over the joint of two adjacent staves, tapered prongs on said member adapted to extend intol said staves and spaced lingers projected from the ends of said member in a direction opposite from said prongs for receiving an kiron band therebetween for forming a pocket therefor. v

2. An anchoring member for kwood silo staves for preventing their up and down stave's for preventing their up and down movement and for holding an iron band in position comprising a center member, tapered prongs formed on the lendsof said center member, said .prongs vbeing bent at right angles to said center member and adapted to be embedded in the wooden staves, a pair of fingers onzeachend of said center member, said pairsof fingersbeing bent at right angles to said center member, the adjacent edges of said pairs of lingers being curved sothat each pair forms substantially a half circle receiving pocket as and for the purposes stated. n

1. In combination with a silo lwall com- `posedr of wood staves Vhaving coacting tongues and grooves, means for preventing up and down movement of the staves relative to each other and for retaining an iron band in position, comprising a center member, means for fastening said center member to two adjacent staves, a pair of lingers on each end of said center member, said pairs of fingers being bent at right angles to said center member, the adjacent edges of said pairs of fingers being curved so that each pair forms substantially a half circle receiving pocket as and for the purposes stated. Des Moines, Iowa, December 21, 1922.

f JERRY WILLEY. 

